Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $18.90 Million Stake in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 360,172 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 12,592 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.39% of California Resources worth $18,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 61.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 974 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in California Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in California Resources by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,910 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of California Resources by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Resources Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE CRC traded down $0.97 on Friday, hitting $50.23. 495,678 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 830,137. The company's 50-day moving average price is $54.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. California Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $43.09 and a 52-week high of $60.41. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. California Resources's quarterly revenue was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that California Resources Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.3875 dividend. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CRC. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Capital One Financial raised California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on California Resources in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $883,762.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 30,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,707,269.20. This trade represents a 34.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total value of $488,927.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,603.25. The trade was a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production, and carbon management company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities.